Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Mazda CX-7 gets sporty makeover for Europe

By Ben Whitworth Motor Industry 29 September 2006 03:13 Mazda is scrabbling to ready a muscular 170bhp turbodiesel engine for its new CX-7 crossover, which arrives in Europe next summer. Although the five-seat 4x4 will initially come with a 258bhp version of the Mazda 6 MPS's turbocharged 2.3-litre four, European market demands for diesel power mean Mazda will unleash a new 2.2-litre version of its four-cylinder diesel. This engine will be hooked up to a slick six-speed manual or five-gear automatic transmission.

Frankfurt 2011: VW Nils EV Go-Kart Video

VW Nils revealed at Frankfurt There have been quite a few of these very small, go-kart-style urban commuter cars cropping up of late, but perhaps the Volkswagen Nils is the most promising. The most promising because if – and it’s a very big if – commuters take to the idea of a grown-up version of a soap-box Kart with an engine for getting to work, the VW Nils will possibly offer the best combination of practicality, refinement and cost. Yes, there’s the Audi Urban Concept to consider, but that will be more expensive (there’s a reason Audi makes VW 40% of its profits), so if commuters do actually find appeal in this route then the Nils is probably the front-runner.

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.